Ganzorig Telmen stars in Babar Ahmed’s “Amka and the Three Golden Rules” at the Boston International Kids Film Festival.

By Loren King
Globe Correspondent
October 26, 2013

The Boston International Kids Film Festival, a new joint effort between Filmmakers Collaborative and Tufts University, runs Nov. 1-3 at the Somerville Theatre. It aims to expose kids 10 and up to a variety of curated features, shorts and documentaries, and to offer workshops in media understanding.

The fest kicks off with “Arcadia,” a coming-of-age story starring Academy Award nominee John Hawkes as a father who takes his three kids on a cross-county trip without their mother.

Another coming-of-age film for all ages, “Amka and the Three Golden Rules,” screens Nov. 2. Set in Mongolia, the film features Ganzorig Telmen as Amka, a poor 10-year-old who lives with his older brother and younger sister. Discovering a gold coin, and what money can provide, leads him into trouble. Director/writer Babar Ahmed edited and shot the film entirely in Mongolia, one of the few films to be produced there.

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Also screening on Nov. 2 is the short “The Making of Malala,” about Malala Yousafzai’s transformation from a quiet, deferential 11-year-old living near Pakistan’s tribal areas to a teenage spokeswoman for girls’ education. It will be followed by “Graceland Girls,” a 28-minute documentary that examines the role of education for girls at a private school in Kenya. Filmmaker Jordan Salvatoriello will discuss the film after the screening.

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Several workshops will be offered at Tufts on Nov. 2. These include “Cyberbullying 101” (for kids 10 and up), facilitated by Jeannine M. Lenehan.

“The Watsons Go to Birmingham” (screens Nov. 2) is an adaptation of Christopher Paul Curtis’s acclaimed civil rights-themed novel. After the screening, Randy Testa, of Walden Media, which produced the film, will discuss its making.

Filmmaker Signe Taylor presents “Decoding Film Language,” and her documentary “Circus Dreams,” about Circus Smirkus, a traveling youth circus, screens as part of the festival, both on Nov. 3. Go to www.bikff.org.

Asian-American experience

The fifth annual Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF) closes Sunday afternoon at ArtsEmerson’s Bright Family Screening Room in the Paramount Center with a shorts program. Boston-based filmmaker Yvonne Ng will discuss her documentary “So Are You Chinese?” about the intersection of race and culture during court-ordered desegration in Boston. Also on hand will be directors Timothy Tau (“Keye Luke”) and Minhae Shim (“Color Theory”). Director Janet Gardner, co-producer Sopheap Theam, and subject Sayon Soeun will be present for the Boston premiere of “Lost Child,” which documents how a Khmer Rouge child soldier confronts his childhood experiences. The fest closes with Hong Kong-based director Adam Wong and the East Coast premiere of “The Way We Dance.” The film chronicles “a young girl born with the soul of hip-hop who joins a collegiate dance crew and discovers that dance and Tai Chi are more connected than it seems.” Go to www.baaff.org.

Short and sweet

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The third annual Glovebox Short Film and Animation Festival, an all-day event that showcases 50 short films grouped into 45-minute sections, takes place Nov. 9 at the Regent Theatre, in Arlington. Tickets are $6 per film section or $30 for the day. Kids under 12 are free.

Post-Halloween horror

The Andrew Alden Ensemble, a contemporary chamber music group that performs live scores to silent films, has a pair of upcoming programs at the Regent. The group will accompany Carl Dreyer’s “Vampyr” (1932) on a double bill with the “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925) on Nov. 2. “Vampyr” will screen the next day along with “Nosferatu” (1922). In addition to the films, the Regent will be hosting a temporary exhibit from The International Life Cast Museum, in Allston, of faces of Hollywood horror films, including Bela Lugosi, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stephen King. Go to www.regenttheatre.com.

Brain power

NewportFILM presents a screening of Ben Lewis’s documentary “Google and the World Brain” Wednesday at the Casino Theatre, Newport, R.I., followed by a discussion. The film follows the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet, Google’s effort to scan every book in the world to build a global library, and why some people are trying to stop it. All proceeds benefit both newportFILM and the Redwood Library, in Newport. Go to www.newportFILM.com.

Magic noir

Otto Preminger’s 1944 classic, “Laura,” starring Gene Tierney, will screen on Nov. 5 at Jordan Hall as part of New England Conservatory’s annual Multi-Media Film Noir Extravaganza. Pianist/composer Ran Blake and event producer Aaron Hartley will perform during the screening. The program also includes two other films starring Tierney, Preminger’s “Whirlpool” and John Stahl’s “Leave Her to Heaven.” NEC musicians will accompany the drama with improvisations, recompositions, and reinterpretations of David Raksin’s original music for the two Preminger titles films and Alfred Newman’s score for “Leave Her to Heaven.” Go to www.necmusic.edu.